Taylor Swift floklore Track by Track Breakdown

1. the 1

the 1 (In my interpretation) is a song about thinking about a past love that she wished would have worked out and whishing that they would have ended up together, but sometimes “the greatest loves of all time are over now”. This song is also about personal growth, because when Taylor says “And if you never bled, you’re never gonna grow” which puts on emphases that if we don’t go through pain and hurt, we are never going to learn or grow up. It is just a part of life. This song is great, and I love the nice slow and calm beat that comes along with it. This song and the rest of the album is stripped back, and it really puts a spotlight on the acoustics

2. cardigan

On this song I would like to focus on two phases that I think make this song. The first one I want to talk about is “And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, Under someone’s bed, You put me n and said I was your favourite” This basically means that Taylor felt like she was not wanted anymore until her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn, and that is such a beautiful piece of lyric. I love her writing so much. The other phase I want to talk about is “When you are young, they assume you know nothing” This talk about how young people have no idea what is happening in the work and have no input in ‘serious’ discussions signifying that people see the young as having no power. This is definitely a beautifully written song.

3. the last great american dynasty

This song talks about the live story of Rebekah Harkness who is a previous owner of am mansion that Taylor has brought. Taylor talks about how women are often to blame for other people’s problems. And this links to her sexual assault trial where the assaulter DJ David Mueller accused Taylor for ‘ruining his life’ instead of owning up to his actions. This song tells a story that women are the easiest to blame for other people’s bad habits and issues even when it is not true.

4. exile feat. Bon Iver

Exile talks about a toxic relationship, and who both people in the relationship don’t communicate about the problems so they just leave. This song talks about the pattern on the toxic relationship where both people in the relationship know what is going to happen because it has been repeated a thousand times, which usually ends in giving out another chance which will most likely be broken in any moment.

5. my tears ricochet

Now I had a hard time unpacking this song, so I really had to research this one because there is a lot to uncover in this song. Now it is told that this song is written about Scott Brochetta who is the founder of Big Machine Records and how he conspired with music manager Scooter Braun to maintain ownership of Taylor’s masters. Taylor saw this as a betrayal on a personal level. People where calling her ‘unprofessional’ and saying that she was in the wrong even though I think that she had every right to be upset. It is like your parents selling your prized possessions to your enemy.

6. mirrorball

In this song Taylor pours her heart out and shows her love for her significant other, as well as her desire to be well liked by people. She acknowledges that that when it comes to emotional pain, she is fragile you see his when she writes “And when I break, it’s in a million pieces” (and honestly, I am the same). She pours out all of her vulnerabilities into this song and I find it beautiful and strong.

7. seven

This song talks about a childhood friend of Taylor’s when she was still living in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She sings about how she can’t remember her friend, but she can still remember the memories and the time that they had spent together. She also sings about the trouble that her friend had in her home life and how she wanted to help. And even though they don’t keep in touch anymore, Taylor still loves her.

8. august

This song is about young love that was not meant to be that happens in the summertime. Summertime love the usually ends when summer is over. It is very short lived. I love Taylors ability to sing from other point of views besides her own, it shows how much of a true artist she is. She is so creative and smart; I love that about her. Being able to think outside of your own perspective is never easy but she portrays it effortlessly.

9. this is me trying

Now you can tell that this song is a really personal and vulnerable song, and I love it when she makes songs like this. Because we all go through it. This song talks about how she is trying to fix all of her wrong doings (that where not all her mistake) but in doing so she found it all too much when there was so many relationships that where broken so she decided to get away from it all (because we all need a break from negativity and just the daily world)

10. illicit affairs

This song is about a love affair that is kept out of the public eye and trying to make sure that there are no links that they are together, not even a present. While the relationship was being hidden from everyone the love was growing constantly to a point that they could not stop it in an instance. It is a beautifully written song and it does portray the difficulties that Taylor has been through trying to hide things from the public, so they don’t get leaked

11. invisible string

This song is all about how she found a love that where an (invisible) sting has this the two lovers together out of nowhere. And her lover has put all of her mistakes, demons, and seasons aside. To Taylor she does not regret the hell of past relationships and experiences as it has led her to her current lover that has brought her heaven.

12. mad woman

So, this song talks about how Scott Brochetta sold Taylors masters to Scooter Braun, as well as the double standards that are set on woman on a daily basis. This song shows us how Taylor was showed as the villain even though it was all of her hard work being sold, I’m pretty sure she should have an opinion on it without being called over dramatic. I mean this story runs long a deep, so this is a topic for another time.

13. epiphany

Now if the first verse the narrative talks about her grandfather when the fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal and talks about all of the post war struggles. Then in the second verse Taylor talks about the global pandemic COVID-19 and how this is something we never expected or predicted to happen. Since this is a quarantine album, I expected there to be a song based on this subject. But what I love the most is that she talks about the medical staff and the impacts this outbreak has had on everyone. So selfless

14. betty

This song is in relation to the song august but this is in James point of view instead of Bettys (If you could tell) and it goes on about how he regrets what he has done and wishes that it has never happened. And it also talks about that the relationship went wrong at the school dance but also had the excuse that it is a summer thing which is why the relationship probably would not have worked out anyways. I love how Taylor can write in other people’s point of view and can create a story. She is so clever

15. peace

This song is about how she can never give her love peace because she is always surrounded by the press and her detractors, so it is hard to keep everything on the down low. But Taylor talk about how she can offer her full love and attention no matter what and says that even though the love is good there is always going to be arguments and disagreements because nothing is ever smooth in life.

16. hoax

This song talks about how no matter the flaws of the relationship, she would never want to leave it for anything else. Because the grass is not always greener on the other side. This song shows pure love and accepting the relationship for what it is and that is beautiful.